Consumers’ attitude towards honey consumption for its health benefits: first insights from an econometric approach

PurposeAs is well known, there are several aspects that characterise honey consumption and the reasons for purchasing it. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the drivers that move consumers towards the use of honey for its health benefits and therapeutic properties. The aim of this study is to define which drivers move the consumption of honey for its health benefits.Design/methodology/approachThe study, conducted on 640 Italian honey consumers, applied inferential tests (Chi-square) and an econometric model (logit regression), and showed that about 66% of the respondents stated that they consume honey for its health properties.FindingsThe main drivers of honey consumption are both among the intrinsic (Colour) and extrinsic (Origin and Organic certification) attributes of the product. What also emerges is that the propensity to consume honey for health purposes is influenced by the consumer characteristics and habits, such as Age cohort, Gender, BMI and Large retail buyer. Moreover, we observed that consumption is influenced by BMI but not by lifestyle characteristics such as sport and diet.Originality/valueThis study could be a support tool for policymakers who are interested in promoting good nutrition and improving public health, since there is great interest in the functional properties of foods and the need to enhance the value of products, while at the same time ensuring consumer protection.

The Role of NGO In Community Empowerment (Case Study LPPSLH Penderes Empowerment in Pasinggangan Village, Banyumas Regency)

Behind the life that we see in the capital city, it turns out that we still know the phenomenon of people's lives in rural areas who still depend on the natural resources around them. One of them is the phenomenon of coconut sugar farmers, who are often called penderes, who still cannot process coconut sap correctly and adequately to increase the selling value of the sugar. It is due to the low level of education and the lack of public knowledge in processing coconut sugar. LPPSLH is a non-government institution engaged in community empowerment, both urban and rural. With the phenomenon experienced by the farmers, LPPSLH as a facilitator, invites the farmers to take part in the organic certification program for ant sugar. Later, it can increase the farmers' income, increase the selling value of sugar, and market their products to the export market. The training and assistance aim to change farmers' behavior and old habits into more productive and profitable habits (efforts) to build farmers' independence. The method used in this research is descriptive-qualitative, and the sampling was collected purposively. The data collection technique used interviews, observation, and documentation. The results showed that LPPSLH played the role of education, facilitation, and advocacy to penderes farmers in empowerment programs, especially in rural areas.

Third-party certification labels for organic food: consumers' purchase choice and willingness-to-pay

PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to examine the effect of organic food certification labels of different third-party verification institutions on consumers' choice of organic food in terms of willingness-to-pay (WTP) using cue utilization theory.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted an experiment in which organic rice and organic certification labels were presented to 360 valid participants.FindingsWith different organic rice labels issued by various third-party verification institutions, including (1) foundations, (2) associations, (3) university certification centers and (4) private businesses, results indicate that consumers had different preferences and WTP for certain labels. The institutions preferred organic food labels issued by non-profit organizations. In addition, consumers showed different WTP as a result of different purchase motivations (e.g. health vs environmental protection).Originality/valueThese results imply that consumers might not have confidence in the organic labels issued by associations and private institutions. Therefore, different types of certification institutions can have significantly different impacts on consumers' WTP. The study further proposes that the extrinsic attributes of food products (i.e. the cues used in making a purchase decision) must be incongruent with the image of third-party certification institutions in order to develop more efficient communication of product information and to encourage consumers to give positive comments regarding organic food.

Analysis of Consumer Preference for Green Tea with Eco-Friendly Certification in China

The eco-friendly certification system is designed to ensure safe agricultural products to consumers while minimizing environmental pollution. However, despite its advantages, it is not widely adopted due to a possible decrease of farmers’ income. In order to provide implication for activating the eco-friendly certification system, this paper examines the attributes of green tea which affect consumers’ preferences and estimates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the eco-friendly certification in China. A choice experiment survey is employed for data collection, and the random utility model is used to estimate the preference for the certification and quality of green tea. The attribute that yields the highest marginal WTP turns out to be the organic certification for which WTP is $115.9/250g higher than for no certification. Also, the analytical results indicate that the group with high trust is willing to pay up to $214.6/250g more for green tea with organic certification compared to the one with no certification. The empirical results suggest that it is important to build the consumers’ awareness and trust toward the certification to activate the eco-friendly certification system.

The Effects of Organic Certification on Shoppers’ Purchase Intention Formation in Taiwan: A Multi-Group Analysis of Structural Invariance

Labeling products with organic certification logos is a means of indicating to consumers that those products are government certified. However, in Taiwan, organic certification is not required before a food product claims itself organic. Since previous research showed that the COVID-19 lockdown effected both Spanish and Romanian subjects’ intention to purchase more sustainable products, the aim of this study was to determine whether the perception of organic certification labeling makes a difference in how organic shoppers’ purchasing intentions toward organic produce were realized. Data from organic produce shoppers were used to identify organic certification labeling differences. One group of shoppers was asked about their purchase behaviors toward government-certified organic produce labeled with the certification logo (N = 468), while the other was asked about their purchase behaviors toward self-claimed organic produce without a government certification logo (N = 403). Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques were employed as the main method of analysis in this study. The results indicated that the hypothesized model was validated. In addition, through this process, it was clarified that this government organic certification labeling significantly enhances the influence of organic produce shoppers’ behavioral beliefs regarding organic produce on their attitudes.

Beef from Calves Finished with a Diet Based on Concentrate Rich in Agro-Industrial By-Products: Acceptability and Quality Label Preferences in Spanish Meat Consumers

Conjoint analysis was used to estimate the relative importance of some of the main extrinsic attributes and quality labels of beef in three Spanish cities (Córdoba, Marbella, and Santa Pola) in a study performed with 300 individuals. Consumers were segmented according to their frequency of consumption. Willingness to pay for different meats was also calculated from the conjoint analysis results. Consumer liking of beef that had been finished with an alternative concentrate rich in agro-industrial by-products and aged for three different durations as compared to conventionally finished beef was also evaluated using the same consumers. The most important attribute for Spanish consumers was the price (28%), followed by origin (25%), animal welfare certification (19%), protected geographical indication (14%), and organic agriculture certification (14%). Most consumers preferred beef from Spain at the lowest possible price and with the highest number of quality labels. Consumers were willing to pay a premium of 1.49, 3.61, and 5.53 EUR over 14 EUR/kg for organic certification, protected geographical indication, and animal welfare certification, respectively. Sensory analysis revealed that, for regular consumers, beef finished with an alternative concentrate rich in agro-industrial by-products offered several hedonic advantages (color, flavor, and tenderness) when compared to beef finished using a conventional diet, while occasional consumers did not find any difference between the two kinds of meat.

Marketing Channel and Marketing Margin of Coconut Palm Sugar Srikandi in the Srikandi Women’s Cooperative Purworejo, Central Java

Coconut palm sugar Srikandi is different from other sugar. Coconut palm sugar Srikandi is derived from the raw material of nira obtained from coconut trees that grow on organic certification land. This organic certificate was issued by the Dutch Control Union, namely the EU Organic Farming certificate and USDA Organic certificate from America. In addition, there was already a halal label from LPPOM Central Java Province and PIRT Purworejo Regency Health Office. Coconut palm sugar Srikandi could reach the market in accordance with organic certificates that were Europe, America, Australia and Sri Lanka. This study aims to identify the marketing channels, marketing margins, farmer's share and the analysis of profit-to-cost ratios. The type of research used by the survey method. The research location was chosen by probability sampling method, that was in Loano District and Kaligesing District, Purworejo Regency as an object and coconut palm sugar tapper who is a member of Srikandi Women's Cooperative as the subject. The most efficient marketing channel research resulted with a marketing margin value of Rp. 15.000 / kg, farmer's share value of 53.13% and the value of profit and cost ratio of 9.78 are found on the channel III.

Choice of certification schemes by smallholder pineapple farmers in Ghana: analysis of constraints and determinants of adoption

PurposeThe main purpose of this study was to assess constraints and determinants of pineapple farmers' choice of certification schemes in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA multistage sampling method was used to solicit data from 345 pineapple farmers from Eastern and Central regions of Ghana. Analytical techniques including descriptive statistics, four-point Likert scale index and multinomial logistic regression model (MNL) were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe four-point scale index shows that high renewal fee for certification schemes is the most important constraint facing certified farmers before high labor cost of production. The MNL model shows that both off-farm income and age negatively influenced farmers' choice of GlobalG.A.P scheme. However, household size had significant positive influence on farmers' choice of GlobalG.A.P and Organic schemes. Likewise, formal education had significant positive relationship with the choice of Fairtrade and Organic certification schemes while farming experience positively influenced organic scheme choice. On the other hand, premium price and extension services positively influenced the likelihood of choosing all the three certification schemes. Lastly, regional dummy only negatively influences the choice of organic certification schemes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the literature on certification schemes adopted by smallholder by analyzing the determinants and constraints of choice of scheme(s).Originality/valueThe study brings to bear the issues confronting smallholder pineapple farmers in the employment of certification schemes in developing countries, specifically Ghana.